Chicano theatre began as religious performances put on by Spanish conquerors who wanted to convert native people. During the 1900s, it became a popular art form in California. The Chicano plays centered on issues that the Chicano community dealt with, such as adapting a an American culture that was alien to them. It also became a tool of protest and revolution by the poor migrant worker community. People such as Louis Valdez performed actos for migrant farmers alongside Caesar Chavez, which expanded into the El Teatro Campesino. Many of the plays are performed in a type of "Spanglish" that represents how the Chicano community fits into the American culture. Most of the exposure the Chicano plays get come from the plays being published as texts and then distributed.
Cuban-American theatre was brought to America, particularly in Florida, by Cuban immigrants. It sprung up most fiercely when there were great conflicts within the Cuban community, such as when Cuba wanted independence from Spain and during the Cuban Revolution. Early on, one of the most popular forms of this theatre was a type of Cuban blackface farce. As a new generation raised in the United States began to write plays, the works began to focus on issues of conflict between Cuban and traditional American cultures.
Puerto Rican theatre really began after the island was liberated from Spain and the writers were able to write about their hopes and frustrations. Many Puerto Rican people moved to the mainland United States, and many of them went to New York. They began to foster a new culture there that was unique to the Puerto Rican community in New York. Instead of performing the plays in Spanish, these new playwrights wrote plays in English and wrote of uniquely second-generation Puerto Rican immigrant issues.
Cuban-American theatre was brought to America, particularly in Florida, by Cuban immigrants. It sprung up most fiercely when there were great conflicts within the Cuban community, such as when Cuba wanted independence from Spain and during the Cuban Revolution. Early on, one of the most popular forms of this theatre was a type of Cuban blackface farce. As a new generation raised in the United States began to write plays, the works began to focus on issues of conflict between Cuban and traditional American cultures.
Puerto Rican theatre really began after the island was liberated from Spain and the writers were able to write about their hopes and frustrations. Many Puerto Rican people moved to the mainland United States, and many of them went to New York. They began to foster a new culture there that was unique to the Puerto Rican community in New York. Instead of performing the plays in Spanish, these new playwrights wrote plays in English and wrote of uniquely second-generation Puerto Rican immigrant issues.